A wedding on the brink of disaster was rescued when Macedon Ranges locals rallied to bring forward the date to beat the state’s snap lockdown.
Planned to marry at Macedon’s Lawson Lodge Country Estate on February 13, Laura Tillotson and Adrian Seccombe could not bare to postpone for a second time.
The Hawthorn couple had already been on rollercoaster to reschedule their big day after their original April 2020 date was postponed in Victoria’s first coronavirus lockdown.
“For them to go through it all again was simply heartbreaking,” estate events coordinator Christina Kennedy told the Express.
“When the lockdown announcement came through on Friday afternoon, the news couldn’t have been more devastating. Together we made the swift decision to try and pull the wedding together for Friday.”
The Lawson Lodge team had five hours to rally the vendors and guests and prepare the venue, and some staff worked 15 hours straight to make the wedding a reality.
Others also dropped their plans to help the couple. Macedon-based Raven and the Rose worked to prepare the stunning florals and Trentham-based Emma James Catering managed to pull off a three-course meal for 92 guests in just an afternoon and on the back of another catering effort.
Their photographer Tim Marriage made swift plans to re-route from Torquay and half of their chosen band were able to assemble for the last-minute date change.
“It was a full sit-down wedding wedding that we were able to recreate from the couple’s original plans with only minor changes,” Ms Kennedy said.
One thing the couple never anticipated being a part of their big day was their first dance performed to Get on the Beers – a Daniel Andrews remix that went viral during the first Melbourne lockdown.
“They were the most beautiful couple and everyone was happy to bend over backwards to make this day happen for them and they couldn’t have been more grateful,” Ms Kennedy said.
From January to May alone, eight of the weddings to be hosted at the property are postponements from 2020 due to coronavirus restrictions, and Ms Kennedy said they understood they were “not out of the woods yet”.
“We’re keeping our fingers and toes and everything crossed that all goes well and we will be able to help these couples celebrate their special day,” she said.
